The dog ate my homework...

I actually have no excuses except 'life' to blame for my one-post-a-week presence at the moment!

Last week was draining and that wasn't just the weather.  Parents evening for the girls - both doing well, a day sorting pressies and then Thursday night's firework spectacular, complete with mud and brollies.  Dear son went hiking and came home with half the Downs caked over his waterproofs and boots, and pretty much all the sewing I did in the week was of the Scout badge variety.

Saturday, a rather cleaner boy went to Brighton Comicon with friends in his Steampunk regalia, and the girls went partying; I came down with some glandular-viral throat/neck thing.  I have plodded on and come out the other side, and today I finally attached my clamshells to My Small World, albeit upside-down; section 4 now complete…

My World is not as grey as this miserable dusk photo suggests!

The girls' presents have just been wrapped so we are all set for tomorrow's 9th birthday celebrations, which will probably commence c.5am.  Later in the week it's hubby's turn, son's parents consultation is after school tomorrow too and an office location announcement at work on Thursday is looking rather like bad news.

But there's a Pizza party and visit from my parents to look forward too at the weekend, and I have a parcel waiting me at the post office which I am hoping is my #schitzelandboominiquiltswap package, but could just be more pressies for others (I lose track!); I'll find out tomorrow.

So that's me in a nutshell.  So please bare with, it's not you, it's me xxx

Domesticated...

Cleaning, sewing and baking; yep, something has got me in the homely mood!

We did pop out today and enjoyed the warm sunshine and a Halloween hunt at the local garden centre; then we came home, ate lunch in the garden then I baked an apple cake, my first.  I would of taken a photo, but I'm sparing you the shock of just how little is left!!

I made my sample block for November's Stitch Tease (success!), and made up a batch of chilli.

I've also been sorting mis-behaving hudls and their equally ill-behaved owners and now I just want to put my feet up in front of the box; Holby, River, all good.

OK so the ironing pile is humungous and there are other less than savoury piles of gubbins in need of sorting, but I'm getting there.

And just because I have nothing else I can show you just now, here's another little block for My Small World…

xxx

My Small World… Part 3

Oh its been far too long since I worked on My Small World; the QAL has quilted and long gone, and I still have a way to go.

I have however been re-invigorated by writing my Q4 FAL list, and over the weekend I finally completed part 3…

That bottom left block, with crazy Y-seams, curves and angles-galore had me a bit worried for a moment or two, but I cracked it!

I have already pieced the sky for part 4, and have made in-roads into the green hills.  If I can get the top finished by the end of Half Term I will be over the moon.  To have something to hand quilt over the November birthday period will be so good.

Talking of birthdays, I need to get my thinking cap on, and get cracking on making some bits and bobs, not to mention deciding whether I will be making goodie bags for 14!  Combined pizza party for the kiddos, I have been told something to do with emojis would be great.  Oh really!?

Gloomy-ish...

After a beautiful weekend, full of sunshine, family, trips out and getting stuff done, today was not so great.

Poor hubby was bed-ridden having over-done it in the garden yesterday, his back just wasn't up to the job, poor bugger; so there were unscheduled doctors and chemist visits in the mix.

The weather was grim anyway, raining most of the day, the kids took timeout in their stride, and I got to do a little more work on #mysmallworld whilst waiting for the doc's home visit…

I've since pieced and trimmed all my 1"x 2" finished flying geese, for this and a later section, and I am feeling happy about getting those under my belt.

What I am also feeling happy about, is succumbing to Amazon's deal of £10 off when you spend £50.

All weekend I was considering going the way of the Kindle.  I do love a real paper book; I collect certain authors and having been cracking on with the pile of unread books I collected over the winter; the lure of being able to get access to loads of books that I would probably otherwise not try or buy, seemed like a good idea.

My pondering paid off!

So for less than £45 I went for it; I will give my verdict in due course.  What I would be interested to know is if anyone has bought e-quilting books, I am wondering about how templates etc would work?

For now though, I guess that means I need to make a case!

End of Part One...

A day at the machine, with a little hand-stitchery in there for luck, and I have Part One of My Small World completed.

I am loving this, I really am.

So the final section came together without any dramas; I appliquéd the petal block and little doorway, but machine stitched the cat flap curve at the bottom!

I wish I had a load of top tips to share, but I didn't do anything too special.  However:

I pieced the sky by cutting 1.5" strips of all my low volume fabrics, and then joining them in pairs, cross-cutting 1.5"x3" pieces, as they are far more machine-friendly, and over the whole sky the repetition will really not be noticeable.

For the tiny (2" finished) pinwheels I cut pairs of 3" squares, stitched round the outside with a 1/4" seam, cut across both diagonals and then trimmed to 1.5" square after pressing; I did the same with a 6.5" square for the larger pinwheel.

I also used the quick HST and twist method for the QSTs, rather than cutting all the triangles and having a bias nightmare.  This makes two, but as there is another in a later section, something tells me templates were not used!

All obvious I'm sure.

No prizes if you can spot the block I inadvertently flipped; I am not in the slightest bit niggled by it, as I think I will be swapping up some of the blocks as I go along anyway, using up some mishaps and fussy-cuts as the urge takes me.  I am hoping to work in some pieced letters too of our initials, to personalise a little more, well it is My Small World after all.

I know I will not keep up this momentum; my plan is to work on this when I feel the urge, but to try and keep up with the QAL at the slowest.  The finish date is just before our wedding anniversary, and as this is planned to hang above our bed, I am hoping to have it completed by then, sentimental old thing that I am!

So that was a grand day off; I even basted a few hexes for my Amitié BOM.  Go me!

Off we jolly well go!

Official Day One of the My Small World QAL and I am on it!

I pieced the first couple of sections of Part One when I got home from work this afternoon; the sun had come out, and I wanted to start!

I have a little patch of sky…

… and some flats...

Over the weekend I also cut papers and basted the teeny hexes; 1/2" sides!  I will take these to Brownie camp, just in case.  You know the score, take nothing, wish you had; take something, no time at all, but hey!

The pace of the QAL is going to be perfect, I need to play catch up on my Amitié BOM, and come the weekend I will be resplendent in new reading, aka sewing glasses, and will be able to basically see again!!

My eyesight has got progressively worse over the last 6 months, and being the numpty I am, I suffered in silence, when all I should have done was get my eyes tested!  My distance vision has hardly changed in the last couple of years, but being mid-forties, the presbyopia has hit hard!  So if you thought my stitchy output has been a little slack, and my blog reading, commenting and replying has been on the scant side, this is the reason!  So once I have recovered from the Brownie holiday, I'll be back on the tiny stitching and reading after dark, with a vengeance.

Sicknote...

An unwelcome, unscheduled day at home for me today; looking after myself rather than anyone-else, so lots of catch-up TV and re-hydrating was in order for the day after the night before.

I did manage to do a little gentle cutting later on this afternoon for My Small World; all the pieces up to Part One stage 6, I think, plus a lot of 1.5" LV strips stitched together, for trimming down as required as the QAL progresses…

And that's me back to the sofa again now; hoping for a less bathroom-based weekend ;)

I am definitely going to, are you?

xxx